The Final Day: A Marauders Tribute
by HopeIsHere16
Summary: Goes through the Marauders' and Lily's last day at Hogwarts - there'll be laughs, there'll be tears, and there'll be pranks...but there'll never be an ending, because friends never say goodbye. R&R!


**Out With A Bang**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter :P**

**A/N: So! It's been quite some time since I've written a Harry Potter fic, so I'm really excited for this! As I'm currently dedicated to my Phantom of the Opera multi-chap, this will be nothing more than a one-shot, but I hope you guys enjoy it anyway. If you recognize parts of this, it is because a one-shot similar to this appeared on FanFiction several years ago. I had written it, and I went back and re-read it the other day and was appalled at the horrible grammar, facts, etc...so this is sort of like a re-write, but I took a lot of parts out, and added a lot of parts in, so it really is completely different. I hope you guys enjoy it!**** Thanks for clicking on, and don't forget to review!**

* * *

It was well before sunrise when the Marauders awoke from their slumbers. The cool night air still lingered about, seeping through the window of their dormitory and chilling them to the bone. Not even their heavy woolen blankets were able to protect them, and Sirius Black grumbled in reaction to the cold.

A slight sleepy chuckle could be heard from James Potter. "Little cold there, Padfoot?"

"Shove off." complained Sirius, pulling his comforter more tightly around him. "It's too early to be awake."

Suddenly, the door to the loo opened, revealing a cleanly shaven and freshly showered Remus Lupin, who was smiling brightly. "Ah, perfect!" he shouted jovially, loud enough to awaken Peter Pettigrew, who was the deepest sleeper of the four friends. "I was just coming out to wake you all up!"

"The moon is still out." pointed out Sirius, peeking out the window through one eye. That eye immediately closed in protest when Remus decided to turn on the lights. "I thought we agreed we'd be waking up at six, not midnight."

"It's five thirty," said Remus cheerfully, walking to his trunk to dig out a pair of casual robes for the day. "There's no point in staying asleep until six just because you can. I thought we wanted everything to go _perfectly _today?"

"I'd rather lay here in denial." said Sirius unenthusiastically. In reality, he was just upset - he didn't like the idea that he was about to go through his last day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. While he was sure he'd be acting excited and callous about leaving the castle all day, he knew that he would miss it more than he had ever missed anything in his entire life.

"Come on, Padfoot." groaned James as he slid out of bed. "Moony's right - if we want to go out with a bang, then we _have _to be sure that everything is absolutely precise."

Rolling his eyes, Sirius removed himself from bed also, stretching his muscles and blinking furiously so that his eyes could adjust to the light.

"Moony, did you already get the elixirs ready for breakfast? I want to make sure the Slytherins get a nice healthy dose of it, mind you." said James casually, as if he were discussing the weather. Remus gave his friend a slight smirk.

"Everything's ready according to your exact specifications." he affirmed, giving a serious nod of his head. By this time, Peter had also rolled his large body onto the floor, and was working up the energy to stand up. "All that's left to do is sneak into the kitchens and slip the bottles into the goblets."

"Piece of cake." said Sirius dismissively, waving off the subject with a flick of his hand. "We could do _that _with our eyes closed. I'm more worried about the Attack of the Grim - are you sure you can get old Lorakeet to -?"

"I've already told you I've got it taken care of." snapped James, not seeing why Sirius was so concerned about it. "What about the love potion? Did you _definitely _pick it up from Zonko's this time, Sirius?"

"Merlin, _one _time I forgot something, and now I'm bloody unreliable."

"I can't _count _how many times you've forgotten things, Padfoot."

"Quite frankly, I find _both _of you unreliable, and I think it's a miracle that we're going to be able to pull any of this off." interjected Remus good-naturedly, giving his friends a carefree chuckle. "Come on then, gents. Are we going to make Hogwarts history or not?"

* * *

The Great Hall began to fill with excitable students earlier than usual - by seven o'clock, every seat at every table was filled. The young witches and wizards in training were laughing, and talking loudly, and were practically shaking with happiness that it was the last full day of school. The seventh years were running about madly, saying goodbye to friends and crying out confessions to secret loves or mortal enemies. The four Marauders sat at their regular spots with the Gryffindors, and were joined - as usual - by James's girlfriend, the beautiful and fiery Lily Evans.

"So what have you four planned for today?" she asked casually, leaning her head on James's broad shoulder. The Marauders smirked at Lily's abnormal bluntness. "Oh, come now," she defended, rolling her emerald eyes. "Your four are the most infamous mischief makers in all of Hogwarts - surely you aren't leaving without doing _something_ worth remembering?"

"Am I mistaken, Lily, or are you _eager _to see what we've planned for today?" asked Sirius jokingly, impatient for Dumbledore to make his speech so the Breakfast Feast could begin. He was _starving_.

"Eager to get it _over _with," grumbled Lily, averting her eyes from Sirius's smug gaze.

Suddenly, all the banter and noise in the Great Hall was interrupted by their Headmaster, Professor Dumledore. Dumbledore wore a cheery smile on his face, and he stood at his podium to give his _Last Day _speech.

"Another year, gone! And so quickly." he began, his wise blue eyes gazing over all the students. "And what a marvelous year, as well. We have been fortunate to have our wonderful Head Boy and Girl," Here, Dumbledore's eyes flickered to where James and Lily sat, and his smile became even warmer. Lily blushed, but James just beamed proudly. "And our Quidditch champions," Dumbledore's eyes remained at the Gryffindor Table, whose Seventh Years and Quidditch players were grinning and high-fiving. "And, of course, the winners of the House Cup, who will be announced this evening." An air of eagerness was tangible in the Great Hall, and Lily prayed that the Marauders' desires to win the House Cup would overshadow their desires to pull mindless pranks, and they would not cost the Gryffindors too many points. "But for now, we feast! Seventh Years, do enjoy your last breakfast here at Hogwarts, and always remember: Zonko's! Wendel! Chocolate Frogs! I thank you."

Thunderous applause shook the Great Hall as food appeared in its multitudes at every House table. Hungry students piled large amounts of food onto their plates, and while the Marauders did indeed gather their usual amounts of eggs and toast, their eyes never left the Slytherin Table.

Lily seemed to notice this, and her eyes as well travelled to the green-robed students who were quite oblivious to what they were about to drink from their goblets.

"What did you _do_?" hissed Lily. The Marauders ignored her.

That was when the first Slytherin began to hiss.

All together, a chorus of snake sounds began to echo off the marble and stone walls of the Great Hall. Against their wills, every single Slytherin student who had taken a sip of Pumpkin Juice was hissing madly and loudly, even beginning to stand up and hiss at others. The other Houses and students in the Hall began to roar with laughter, none more so than the Marauders. And when she spotted Severus Snape going around shouting, "Hiss! Hiss!", Lily couldn't help but chuckle either.

"Enough!" shouted Professor McGonagall from the staff table. Even though she tried her hardest to look stern, the Marauders could tell that she, too, was trying not to laugh. McGonagall turned to Walter Thorne, the Slytherin prefect, and asked, "Mr. Thorne, just _what _is the meaning of this?"

"Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!" was all Thorne managed to say. McGonagall narrowed her eyes.

"Stop hissing at once!" the Transfiguration teacher commanded. But alas, the hissing did not desist in the least.

"Professor," chortled Miranda White, a sixth-year Hufflepuff with a personal vendetta against the Slytherins. "I don't think they're hissing on _purpose_! I think some sort of genius bewitched them!"

"If I _find _out _who_ is responsible for this, I swear I'll - " started McGonagall, but Sirius interrupted her mid-rant.

"You'll what, Minnie?" he shouted. "You'll give us detention?" Sirius commanded all the attention in the room, and all the laughing ceased immediately as the entire school - besides the Slytherins, of course - stared at the four Marauders in wonder. Sirius stood up on the Gryffindor table, and continued his announcement. "It's the last day! Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time _ever_, watch in amazement as the Marauders _admit _to something we've done! Simple potions work, really, but great fun, eh? I would also like to extend a personal thank-you to you all from my mates and I...you've been a great audience the last seven years, really!"

As Sirius sat back down, everyone began to cheer. Whoops and cat-calls echoed more loudly than the laughs had, and the four Marauders bowed their heads in false modesty. Even a few of the professors, not excluding Dumbledore, were giving the four Gryffindors fond smiles. They had expected this day to come for seven years, after all.

"Stick around!" shouted James excitedly. "This was just the prologue! The real show has _yet _to begin!"

* * *

James, Remus, and Peter sat boredly in Divination, listening to Professor Lorakeet tell each individual pupil what their future would bring to them. James couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of what was to come.

"And you, my dear," the old Divination Professor spoke softly, standing in front of Annabelle Higgins. "You are truly going to achieve success, yes, that's right. Fame shall be yours, and won't the glory taste sweet?"

Remus rolled his eyes. He _hated _Divination, but all four Marauders had suffered through the entire year of hellish torture and impossible assignments simply so they could taste the sweet victory of _this _prank on the last day of the class.

Lorakeet was just getting to James to tell him of his future. She took his palm in hers very seriously, and James pretended that her prediction was truly going to affect the rest of his existence.

"Professor Lorakeet," whispered James fervently, pretending to allow emotion to crack his voice. From behind him, Remus stifled laughter.

"James Potter, my dear James Potter," replied Professor Lorakeet, the same rawness in her own voice.

"I am not afraid." James whispered, widening his eyes and boring into his teacher's gaze. Peter wondered how his friend was keeping a straight face. "Please, tell the wonders of the mystical future to these humble ears."

Lorakeet nodded solemnly, and gave James's hand a squeeze. She closed her eyes in deep concentration. "Why, what is this?" she asked in a wispy voice, her eyebrows knitting together in concern. "Oh, my dear, true _horrors_ await you, they do! Why, you won't live to see your son grow into a man! You won't live to see your twenty-first birthday! Oh, what a pity when the young die! Oh, what a - AH!"

Suddenly, a large black dog bounded forward from the back of the classroom. He growled fiercely, and stood as tall as he could. Lorakeet's eyes widened in mortal terror, and she immediately released James's hand and backed herself against a wall. "A GRIM!" she screeched. "IT'S A GRIM! OH, THE HORROR, THE TERROR! AH!"

The large dog, known to his friends as Padfoot, chased Lorakeet around her classroom in circles, growling and barking. When the rest of the class noticed the three remaining Marauders practically dying of laughter, they understood that they were not in any danger, and began to laugh as well.

"RUN!" commanded Lorakeet breathlessly, trying to escape the bites of the vicious hound. "OH, RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! SAVE YOURSELVES! DO NOT LINGER ABOUT HERE, DEAR ONES! HE SHALL EAT EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU, I HAVE SEEN IT! OH FOR THE LOVE OF MERLIN, GET OUT, MY DEAR STUDENTS! HE SHALL KILL YOU! HE SHALL BLOW YOU ALL TO BITS WITH A LOOK FROM HIS HORRID EYES! AHHHH!"

As the rest of the students filed out, grateful to be getting out of the stuffy attic-like classroom, James and Remus gave each other epic high fives.

"Now _that _was a good Divination class." chortled Remus, winking at his friends. James and Peter whole-heartedly agreed.

* * *

_"Lily, my precious little flower, won't you please do this for me?" _

_"But James, I've never even been a decent _liar_. How am I supposed to pull off a prank?" _

_"I can teach you!" _

_"But it'll need to be convincing to the _Marauders_. It'll never work!" _

_"What if I could swear to you that it would?" _

_"I thought the four of you were going to plan something _together_ for the last day of school." _

_"Of course we are! But these are my best mates, Lily. I've got to have _some _fun with them before we leave Hogwarts forever." _

_"I don't know James, this just doesn't seem funny to me. It seems downright cruel!"_

_"I promise you that they'll find this funny. You know...afterwards." _

* * *

Just before lunchtime, Remus, Sirius, and Peter were heading back to the Gryffindor common room. They were in search of James, who had missed their last class. They were a bit worried for their friend, but at the same time, they didn't think anything bad had happened - they just assumed that he was probably tired and went back to bed for a while or something. They never thought they would come face to face with the scene that they did when they went through the portrait of the Fat Lady.

James was seething in the middle of the room, glaring at Lily and..._Snape_?

"James, what's going on here?" asked Remus upon entering the room. James didn't even look at him.

"Lily, _how could you_?" shouted James in anguish, tears springing to his eyes. Snape reacted by protectively putting his arm around Lily, and pulling her close. Lily began to cry as well, and Snape gently wiped the tears away.

"I'm so sorry James!" cried Lily, throwing herself at James's feet. Snape pulled her back up almost immediately, and scolded her for bowing to "that _Potter_" like he was some sort of King. Lily continued apologizing anyway. "Oh, James, it was a long time ago!"

"I don't care! You lied to me, Lily! You promised you wouldn't ever go back to him!" yelled James. Tears began to fall from his eyes with even more frequency, and his three friends were at a complete loss about what they should do.

"She obviously loves _me_, Potter." said Snape triumphantly, beginning to laugh. "As she is having _my _child!"

"Whoa!" shouted Sirius, his eyes going as wide as an owl's. The three Marauders were flabbergasted.

"I hate you both!" sobbed James, removing his wand from his robes. Sirius and Remus immediately stepped forward to disarm their friend, knowing that in his current state of mind, he was capable of anything. "I'LL KILL YOU BOTH!" he screamed.

"James, no!" shouted Sirius, grabbing James by the shoulders and shaking him roughly. "I hate Snivellus too, but you can't _kill _him! Or Lily, for that matter!"

"Get back, Sirius!" sniffled James, pushing Sirius back as hard as he could. "Get away from me! This is between me and those _things_!"

"James, Padfoot is right!" tried Remus, always the voice of reason. "I know what Lily did was horrible, but -"

"Everyone just leave! YOU DON'T NEED TO SEE THIS!" sobbed James heavily, aiming his wand at the greasy Slytherin wrapped around Lily.

"James, you'll regret hurting her!" tried Sirius frantically, running to Lily to shield her from his maddened friend. He put his arm around Lily, knowing in his heart that James would be so unhappy if he did _anything _to her. James obviously misinterpreted Sirius's actions, however, because his eyes went wide.

"YOU _TOO_, PADFOOT?" he screeched. Sirius looked around in confusion - _huh_?

"What?!" asked Sirius defensively. "Mate, I'm just trying to stop you from doing something you'll regret!"

James's gaze went back to Lily, and he demanded, "You went behind my back with _Padfoot_, too? Who else have you been kissing? Remus?"

"Whoa, mate!" insisted Sirius in a very high-pitched voice. "Me and _Lils_? You know I'd never - Remus, maybe, but not -!"

"Hey!"

"Hey, guys?" asked Snape, his voice suddenly much higher. Everyone turned to face the greasy-haired Slytherin. "Don't mean to spoil the fun, mind you, but I fear that if we keep at this much longer, someone is going to overhear and report us. And I think my Polyjuice is wearing off..."

And then, James and Lily were laughing...

* * *

"I'm never forgiving you for that."

"You really thought I'd go after Lily, Padfoot?"

"James, you had us thinking-"

"I really thought you were going to kill them!"

"Didn't know you could bloody act so well, mate."

"We are _not _friends anymore. I want my sweater back."

"You know we're going to have to get you back, right?"

"Can't believe you'd..."

"Actually, keep the sweater. It never fit me right anyways."

James was _still _hearing it from his friends even as they sat in the middle of dinner. His prank with Lily _had _been rather amusing, and he didn't regret it a bit. His beautiful little flower had done such a wonderful job, considering the fact she was usually such a wretched liar! Her friend, Marlene, had even been a good actress when she'd pretended to be Snape! He didn't care if the other Marauders pranked him until kingdom come, he would _never _regret seeing the looks on their faces when Snape had turned back into Marlene and Lily had begun to laugh...

Gryffindor - despite all the points the Marauders had lost them - had somehow managed to win the House Cup. Everyone was in high spirits as the Feast commenced, and that wasn't _all _because it was the last day of school. Everyone was eagerly anticipating more of the Marauders' pranks. There had been some good ones so far - the Attack of the Grim in Divination, for example. The Marauders had also managed to slip Professor Binns some puking pastels, which had been both hilarious _and _disgusting. In Potions, Professor Slughorn's beautiful goodbye speech had been interrupted by an angry Moaning Myrtle, who - thanks to a deceit potion - was fervently convinced that the older man was her ex-boyfriend who had left her for McGonagall.

Everyone knew, however, that the Marauders' best work always came at dinner.

"You ready, Padfoot?" whispered James, passing a small pink elixir to Sirius. Sirius nodded eagerly.

"Of course I am." grinned Sirius, running a hand through his hair to fix it. "But do I actually have to _take_ the potion? Can't I just pretend?"

"No." said Remus between bites of roll. "It'll be more convincing if you _don't_ bust out laughing in the middle of it."

"What's Sirius going to do?" asked Lily, eyeing the four Marauders suspiciously. She had a really bad feeling about whatever was about to happen in the Great Hall.

Sirius sighed, and rolled his grey eyes dramatically. "Lily, _how_ many times must we tell you-?"

"I know, I know, '_A good Marauder never reveals his secrets.' _blah, blah blah." Lily did a weak impression of James's deep voice, which earned her quite a few laughs. She watched in horror as Sirius downed a small potion that had been in his hands. The entire time he drank it, he did not remove his gaze from Professor McGonagall, who was sitting at the staff table in deep conversation with Professor Dumbledore.

And _then_, Lily watched in absolute disgust as Sirius stood up in the middle of the Great Hall, and shouted-

"MINERVA MCGONAGALL!" All eyes fell on Sirius, including McGonagall's. The older witch flushed deeply at her students' profession. "I AM IN LOVE WITH YOU! I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN IN LOVE WITH YOU! AND NOW THAT I'M GRADUATING, OUR LOVE CAN FLOURISH AND BLOSSOM!"

"Mr. Black!" said McGonagall sharply, standing up from the table and attempting to look intimidating. "How _dare_ you-"

"Our love is like a helpless baby bird!" Sirius shrieked, standing up on the dinner table as he had at breakfast. "Won't you care for it with me, Minnie? Won't you love our helpless little birdie?"

"Mr. Black, I-" McGonagall looked like she was going to curse something, earning many laughs from James, Remus, Peter, and even Lily.

"I can wait!" Sirius said quickly, acting as though he was trying to reassure his 'true love'. "_We_ can wait, my love, until I'm eighteen! That's quite soon, I can wait another month! For my love for you will never end! I would wait for you forever!"

"MR. BLACK!" McGonagall roared. "Why I have _never_-!" Suddenly, McGonagall seemed to notice the increasingly loud guffaws coming from one James Potter, and the Head of Gryffindor achieved a deadly look upon her face.

"THAT IS IT!" she shouted, her eyes focused on the Marauders. "YOU FOUR! DETENTION!"

"For how long, Minnie?" giggled Sirius, happily taking the antidote James handed him. His infatuation with McGonagall immediately ceased. "We leave tomorrow." he reminded her.

* * *

The Marauders sat in McGonagall's office, waiting for their Head of House to show up. Unlike the other times they had been sentenced to detention, they did not wear dejected looks upon their faces; in fact, they were practically _beaming _with pride.

"Well, mates," began James, surveying his surroundings. He noticed all the little artifacts in McGonagall's room...every small detail he had overlooked in the past. "Take a good look around - this is the last time we'll ever be in here."

"We really were in here a lot, weren't we?" sighed Remus, his eyes glossing over as he remembered the many times he had been stuck in detention thanks to his friends. "It's going to be strange, not having anyone punish us for our actions from now on."

"_I _can't believe she gave us detention on the last day," grumbled Sirius, not on the same level of nostalgia as his friends.

"Oh, you'll miss it one day, Padfoot." smiled James, ruffling his friend's hair. Sirius's hands immediately flew to the mane of black atop his hand, flattening it out to make sure that it wasn't messed up. James continued to speak. "You'll be all old and grey, and you'll _wish _you were stuck in detention with those miscreants you used to hang out with."

"Used to?" chuckled Sirius, giving each of us friend's a once-over. When had they gotten so much...taller? And when had Remus started to grow facial hair? And was Peter losing weight? "What do you mean? Leaving Hogwarts doesn't mean the bloody _Marauders _are ending. Nothing's going to change tomorrow."

"Well...what if it _does_?" asked Remus delicately. He shuffled uncomfortably on his seat, trying to ignore the quizzical look that was being given to him by Sirius.

"What do you mean?" the younger boy asked. "What do you mean _what if it does_?"

"I mean, Padfoot..." began James, seeing that Remus wasn't sure how to answer Sirius. "Hogwarts is over, mate. We aren't going to be around each other all the time anymore. We aren't going to be living together in the dorm, or meeting for classes...what if we go our separate ways? Maybe not on purpose, of course, but this war is only going to get worse..."

"Prongs!" interrupted Sirius, effectively stopping James's train of thought. "Don't think like that, mate! None of us are ever going to be separated! We'll always be together and we'll _always _be the Marauders!"

"Padfoot, it's not that we don't want to be friends anymore!" interjected Peter hopefully. "We'll always be friends, of course, but...I think James just means that everything's going to be - to be unpredictable from now on."

"We can't be pried about by some damn Dark Wizard!" insisted Sirius angrily, the light atmosphere of the room immediately turning tense. None of the boys noticed Professor McGonagall watching them from the slightly ajar doorway. "_Our _bond is stronger than that! We'll always be the Marauders, and we'll always be brothers, and we'll always have our full moon adventures, and we'll always hate Slytherins, and we'll always be friends, and we'll _always _be a...be a...family."

Several tears had sprung to Sirius's eyes, and he hastily wiped them away before the others could see his weakness. The Marauders were the only family he had - he couldn't lose them. He _couldn't_.

It shocked Sirius to see that both James _and _Remus were also wiping their eyes quickly. But Remus spoke before Sirius could question either of them.

"Padfoot...we'll _always _be here for you."

"Yes." agreed James, nodding his head with certainty. "We'll always be a family."

"But...I am going to miss you guys." admitted Sirius sheepishly. His friends smiled, and the four Marauders engaged in a not-so-manly hug. McGonagall smiled fondly before clearing her throat and entering her classroom. The four Gryffindor boys broke apart immediately, coughing in embarrassment and ruffling their hair. McGonagall stifled the urge to roll her eyes affectionately.

* * *

James entered the Gryffindor common room with a spring in his step, whistling a tune as he walked. He saw that the only person present was his Lily, who was lounging on the couch with a book in her lap. The light from the fireplace cast a beautiful glow, that made Lily's hair shine and look like it was dancing. James paused for a moment to admire his girlfriend, and truly revel in the fact that she was _his. _She loved him, and he loved her, and as long as that remained true, nothing could be horrible.

Lily turned her head, and noticing James, gave a small smile. James reached the couch in two large strides, and took a seat next to Lily eagerly.

"That was quick," noted Lily, closing her book and placing it on the floor next to the couch. She took James's hand in her own, and began to rub circles on his palm with her thumb. James's gave her an adoring smile.

"Easiest detention _I _ever served." he said playfully, reaching over and tucking a strand of red hair behind Lily's ear. "All Minnie did was warn us that we couldn't act up out in the real world. And _then _she went on and on about how she was actually going to miss us."

"That's nice." said Lily, averting her eyes from James's. James looked at her with worry.

"Lily?" he asked carefully. "What's the matter?"

James was surprised to see tears in Lily's beautiful green eyes when she looked back up at him. "It's really ending, isn't it?" she asked, her voice cracking as she spoke. "All of this. What's going to happen to us, James?"

"Nothing is going to happen, Lils." assured James quickly, wiping away Lily's tears hastily. He gave his lovely little flower a kiss on the cheek. "I promise."

"But everything is going to change," noted Lily dejectedly, trying to keep the tears away. "All of our friends..."

"Lily," stated James delicately. "I know you're going to miss everyone, but _listen _to me. True friends _never _say goodbye."

"And I won't be seeing you every day..." continued Lily sadly.

"Why not?" questioned James, as though the thought of not seeing Lily every day had never crossed his mind. The redhead gave him a questioning look.

"Well," she said slowly. "Now, we live together in the same tower, but after tomorrow, I'll have to go back home with my parents and my sister, and you'll have to move back to Potter Manor."

"Oh." said James in surprise, jumping slightly at the idea. "I didn't know...I mean, I just thought you would rather come with me and we would buy our own house."

The only sound that could be heard was the sound of the fire crackling in front of the couch. Lily's heart was pounding furiously, and her mind was clouded with shock.

"W-What?" she managed to get out.

"Lily Marie Evans," stated James firmly, taking both of Lily's hands in his. "I love you. And I don't ever want to be away from you. I want to wake up every day and see you next to me. I know that we're young, and I know that this is really crazy, but I know what I want. You're the only thing I really have _going _for me, and I'd be an idiot to let you slip away. So," James removed one of his hands from Lily's grasp, and reached into his pocket. He removed a golden ring from it, and slipped it onto the third finger of her left hand. Lily stared at the piece of jewelry in wonder while James continued. "Will you marry me?"

No pause was required this time. As soon as the words left James's lips, a great smile appeared on Lily's face, and in between the manic kisses the young witch was suddenly giving her _fiancée_, she kept saying, "Yes, yes, yes, yes!"

And from underneath James's invisibility cloak in the corner of the room, the other Marauders were smiling proudly at James.

* * *

It was no surprise that the Marauders stayed up the entire night. They all sat on James's bed, recounting stories of their early years at Hogwarts.

"Do you really think we should have let Filch take the Map?" asked Sirius in concern. His friends laughed.

"What use are we going to have for it out _there_?" questioned Remus, gesturing out the window to the great big world they were soon going to be entering.

"It was the right thing to do." approved James. "Whoever is a good enough mischief maker to successfully take that Map back from Filch is worthy of its secrets."

There were laughs, and there were tears, and there were memories shared during the entire night. After the moon had risen into the sky, Sirius had slid beneath the bed they were seated on and carved four names into the wooden frame - _Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, Prongs_. Beneath it he carved a message, and then he returned to his friends and finished packing his things away.

The room looked empty. All of the clothes and belongings that had been scattered there all year were cleaned up and stuffed away. The beds were made, and everything was clean. It looked like no one had ever lived there.

The next day, the boys left Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry forever. The train took them back to London, and when they got off, they walked off in four different directions. For the first time, the boys were off on their own, walking into a future that they had no idea about. As Peter had said that day in McGonagall's office, unpredictability was a new factor in their lives, one that played very heavily in their fates.

If you tried to find the Marauders today, you never would. As James and Remus had feared, the four friends had gone their separate ways - some by choice, others by force. But their separation was not forever...never forever. For as Sirius Black had carved beneath their names:

_Friends never say goodbye._


End file.
